another "moving to Chantilly for work" thread (Reston: apartments, renting) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

cav987654321 · 10-25-2013, 10:48 AM

My family will be moving from Houston, TX to Chantilly, VA for work. I have never heard of this place until a few days ago.

We are a family of 5 (2yr old, 1yr old, and a 20 yr old nephew). Any suggestions on where to look, and who to contact? The preference is to buy a home, but if nothing can be found for under $1700/month then I suppose we will be renting. I am also hoping to find an area that is family friendly with parks, schools, etc.

Any advice anyone can share would be awesome.

Thank you!

CaliTerp07 · 10-25-2013, 11:01 AM

What is your budget to purchase? (Not monthly budget, but purchase price)
What sort of house are you looking for? How big, age, type of home, etc.
How long of a commute will you tolerate?

In gross generalization, all of Northern Virginia is "family friendly" with lots of parks and good schools. Is there anything else you want to find?

sullyguy · 10-25-2013, 11:03 AM

Whoa! Never heard of "chantilly lace"!!?

Anywho, Chantilly itself has plenty of houses - Sully Station (whence "sullyguy"...) a little south of Chantilly has houses/townhouses/etc. If you want to commute 10-ish miles, Herndon/Reston/Oakton have plenty of housing.

If you're going to be working for a local company or The Gummamint (typically) then HR of those entities should have plenty of leads.

Note - I bought my SFH more than 20 years ago and my monthly mortgage-etc is on the order of your $1700 ceiling - it is REAL unlikely you'll find a SFH =or= even a TH these days for that little (because $200,000-ish, the cost to get to that mortgage amount, is on the low end even for THs). You can go a little further west to places like Manassas (not Fairfax county) and possibly get something inexpensive enough.

In any case, call a local realtor if HR pans out and they'll be able to set you up.

cav987654321 · 10-25-2013, 11:21 AM

My job is actually fast food based, and it will ask me to travel between Arundel Mall in MD, and a mall in/around Chantilly. I will get more details when the time to move gets closer (looking for a March-April move).

Budget? I have no clue on what a realistic budget would be honestly. I have been approved for homes in TX of up to $350,000, but we ended up purchasing a modest 1500 sqft home with a 2 car garage for only $150,000. It is a single story home, 3bed, 2 bath with an open floor plan. The house was built in 1997, and it gave me a commute of about 20 minutes to any of the malls in Houston.

Middlin · 10-25-2013, 12:01 PM

You're in for the shock of your life. Getting from the Chantilly area to Hanover Maryland will be a nightmare. THis area has the worst traffic and even if you don't drive during normal rush hour, you will be spending a LOT of time in the car. Given the difference in housings costs, I would really examine if this move is worth it in terms of quality of life. A SFH can't be had in the Chantilly area for less than 400k. Potential for a condo, BUT count on paying condo fees at around $200-$400 a month on top of the mortgage.

dmv101010 · 10-25-2013, 01:20 PM

20 min here is 5 miles of drive time, no lie and those locations are going to be miserable. Really add up if the extra money is worth your sanity.

VADude · 10-25-2013, 02:46 PM

This is good advice. Actually, I'd rethink the whole moving thing. With the commute from house to work and that commute between Virginia and Maryland your quality of life is going to feel poor. I hope it comes with a fat enough paycheck to make it worth your while.

Chantilly itself is not a great community to move to. It's basically a big strip mall along Lee Jackson Highway, with lots of townhouses and apartments surrounding it attracting a fair amount of crime, at least for Fairfax County. I think it's an ugly place to live.

It's also got a lot of Hispanics. It helps to know Spanish.

sullyguy · 10-25-2013, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VADude

It's basically a big strip mall along Lee Jackson Highway, with lots of townhouses and apartments surrounding it attracting a fair amount of crime, at least for Fairfax County. I think it's an ugly place to live.

It's also got a lot of Hispanics. It helps to know Spanish.

Hmmm...though I do not live in Chantilly (just south of it) I think you are confused.

sullyguy · 10-25-2013, 03:13 PM

BTW for the OP - you can get a pretty darn good idea of commute times (or, say, TH and apartment density of a particular area...) by going onto Google maps in Satellite mode (to see said density) and asking for directions from, say, Chantilly, VA to Arundel Mall, MD. The answer is not...pretty...for that commute.

Here's a quickie link I just tried: Lousy Commute

[note, however and as others have pointed out, your pricing guidelines probably eliminate Chantilly anyway regardless the horrendous commute you're planning]

cav987654321 · 10-25-2013, 04:21 PM

The relocation is pretty much something I have to do. I can't quit so moving is just something that we have to deal with. Luckily the trip to to Arundel mall is only twice a month at most so I don't think it will be too bad.

I typed in Sully Station VA using Zillow, and it came up with quite a few 3/2 homes with a max budget of $400,000. What I didn't understand is why I couldn't find Sully Station. I did find Centreville, and Clifton. Does Sully Station encompass those areas? Or is it a separate area on its own?